K-pop star Jessi cleared of charges in fan attack case

South Korea-based American singer-rapper Jessi has been cleared of all charges in the fan attack case that took place in front of her.

According to South Korean news sources Seoul police said they dropped charges against the 35-year-old star, citing insufficient evidence that Jessi was hiding a criminal and helping him escape, Yonha and Korea Joongang Daily reported.

South Korean broadcaster JTBC published a report in October It’s about the incident that occurred on September 29. An 18-year-old male fan approached Jessi, who was out with friends, to ask for a photo. While he politely declined, the interaction led to a fight.

One of Jessi’s collaborators, a music producer known as Koala, reportedly threatened and shot a fan. Another man, who was allegedly part of Jessi’s entourage that day, was later caught on closed-circuit television footage rushing out to beat up the fan. Although Jessi tried to intervene at first, she quickly left the scene.

She later told police that she did not know the attacker and had only encountered him for the first time that day, but later admitted that the attacker was an acquaintance of someone she knew.

The star’s lawyer told South Korean broadcaster SBS on November 7 that Jessi was deeply sorry for the distress the incident caused the victim, saying: “Jessi did not help the perpetrator escape from the scene and did not know this person before the incident.”

Police issued an international arrest warrant for the attacker, who Korea Joongang Daily said was Taiwanese. The man left South Korea three days after the incident. A lawsuit was filed against 36-year-old Koala on charges of assault and he was referred to the prosecutor’s office.

The incident seriously damaged Jessi’s career. The Zoom (2022) singer’s contract was terminated by her agency DOD Entertainment after the hack was revealed, just a month after she announced she would be joining the agency.

He also incurred the ire of netizens who felt that he did not do enough to protect his fan, and received a lot of malicious comments.

Jessi apologized twice on her social media accounts for the incident.

“If I had taken photos, protected the victim more effectively, gone directly to the police or apologized properly, the victim would not have suffered so much,” he wrote on October 23. This is all my fault.